I have spent 30 years practising and teaching Tomiki Aikido I have a lot of good to say about it. 20 of those 30 years I studied under the instruction of Dr Lee Ah Loi on a weekly basis from Shodan to Godan level. Dr Lee holds the rank of 7th Dan Aikido JAA,7th Dan Jodo ZNKR, 7th Dan Iai-do ZNKR Dr Lee taught the complete system of Tomiki Aikido, not just the sporting side. Tomiki Aikido has as much depth as any other style of Aikido most of the techniques in our koryu no kata are the same as traditional styles. Koryu means old forms a lot of the techniques come from the Aikibudo period when Ueshiba developing Aikido. Tomiki was one of Ueshiba's first student starting aikido in the mid 1920's. He was still on the teaching staff of the Aikiai untill the early 1960's. At the end of the day its all Aiki whatever we call our style although I have graded within the Tomiki system I have an open mind and have practised other styles. As Dave said you have to judge for yourself, but please whe judging a style go to a good teacher who knows the complete system. Iam interested what grade and who taught Tomiki style to the guy who said stay away from Tomiki style. Shaun Hoddy
Steven's hilarious. I loved when Saso on Mad TV used to do skits about him - he played him perfectly.
I've just read through all of this thread and there are some very interesting things said about Mr. Seagal and his contributions, positive or otherwise, to Aikido. My conclusion is that while his private life may show him in a less than favourable light, he is not the only, far less the worst, example of someone who has brought the name of their chosen art into disrepute. The self-confessed alcoholic and wife-beater George Best wasn't exactly the prime role model for budding young football players, was he? What I would like to pick up on though is the theory some gave, that despite his "shortcomings" off-screen, he has done good things for the art of Aikido.... While this may be true to SOME extent, that's like saying Mike Tyson has done good things for boxing and Jean Claude Van Ballerina has done good things for Muay Thai. Sure, they turned a lot of people ON to these arts, but their "antics" no doubt turned just as many, if not more people, OFF of martial arts in general.
He's an excellent akidoist. He's taken some heat by people claiming he's bought his rank by donations to the buddhist temples. But thats no different than the "honorariums" that are paid to TKD and karate masters for training and testing fees at the higher ranks.
There isn't a Buddhist temple in Japan that issues Aikikai Yudansha Menjo, that's because the Aikikai issue "aikikai" Yudansha Menjo. Seagal is reputed to have donated 1million US $ to the Aikikai - a very noble gesture if I say so myself. I might hold my opinions about the man (whom I've never met I might add), but at the end of the day he is what he is, like him or leave him. Regards
Aye, that it was. Can't fault him there. But that was after his 4th dan, right? I think he was already a 4th dan when he made his first movie. Anything above 4th dan is influenced by politics and senority anyway, no matter who you are. All the news articles and books and reports I've read say that he was already a legitimate aikido instructor running a legitimate school near Hollywood, CA when he made his first movie. Actually it was because he was so good at aikido that he got his first movie deal. One of his students was a movie producer. Lucky Seagal! Would that I could star in a movie!
Sorry Dave, I really don't know the background of the sport itself. Just have read a lot of info on Steven. I didn't want it to turn into a "bash Steven thread". He's done some good with orphans and political issues in Tibet regardless of how someone may feel about him.
Seagal Sensei has done a lot of work in Taiwan regarding mistreatment of "street" dogs, as well as work on helping the Elephants in India from being exploited and abused. His personal relationships have not been so stellar. He is very humble when it comes to Aikido or peace/religious issues. I've trained with a few people that said his technique wasn't very good, or that the randori in his video didn't show much because he's a 6'4 ~200# man against much smaller individuals. To me, comments like these scream jealousy. And as I recall if O'Sensei was 5'4", he was stretching. Small men can kick serious ass too-- so the assertion that the individuals "attacking" him weren't large enough is ridiculous. I'm not a Seagal apologist, but as Dave Humm says, "he is what he is" An accomplished Aikidoka, a fair actor, and at times a genuine ass. Sounds human to me. In Hollywood, it's ego vs. ego, and for better or worse, he's not one to back down... at least that's how I see it. Regarding "Path Beyond Thought": Very good, but not great, aikido video. At times it gives great insight, at other times it seems like an infomercial for "Steven Seagal's Great and Effective Aikido". I love his no-nonsense approach, I think some of the comments from Reynosa Sensei say a lot. His style almost comes across as linear, but tighter, more refined circular motions will appear that way. His irimi is awesome.
